Waterline 56—May 2015

Waterline provides the latest data on (a) throughput, (b) container handling productivity (both wharf-side and land-side), and (c) the cost of importing and exporting containers. It covers both the unloading of container ships and the transport of containers from terminals. Highlights from this edition include:

Throughput at Australian ports increased 3 per cent over the period July-December 2014, relative to the previous year, with a total throughput of 3.7 million TEUs. This compares to non-farm GDP growth over the same period of 2.7 per cent: port throughput continues to increase faster than non-farm GDP. Fremantle experienced the strongest increase of 11.3 per cent; the other ports showed more modest growth, except Adelaide, which recorded a 2.6 per cent decline.

Land-side efficiency continued its decline in all ports except Adelaide: average truck and container turnaround times increased by 5.7 and 4.7 per cent, respectively.

The Port Interface Cost Index (PICI) increased by $10-$14/TEU over the reporting period, with the larger increases for smaller vessel sizes. Port Interface Cost for medium- and large-size vessels is now approaching parity. While historically, port handling costs have been declining as the general price level across the economy (the GDP deflator) has been increasing, this trend has reversed since 2010, and port interface costs are now rising.